What surprises you most about how the industry has evolved?
Gerald Hines - Chairman and founder, Hines - The movement to very large organizations and capital structures. And who would have thought that pension funds would be doing joint ventures with developers?
Edward S. Gordon - Office of the Chairman, Insignia/ESG - The fact that real estate transactions are now such a major part of corporate decisions. When I started in the business rents were so cheap, they were not as significant in terms of the bottom line. Now if real estate decisions are not well thought out, it can cripple a company.
Harold Ellis - Co-founder, Grubb & Ellis - The reluctance to change. This industry has changed less than any industry in our economic system - and more slowly.
Julien Studley -- Founder and chairman, Julien J. Studley, Inc. - The different type of people in brokerage. Now there is no border between analysts and brokers. People don't want to work with just brokers that are always selling, they want analysts that provide information.
Susan Hudson-Wilson - Founder and president of Property & Portfolio Research - "I am still dismayed by the number of old-guard thinkers there are. The pace of change has been excruciatingly slow."